The Number of Aid Workers Killed Has Tripled in Nearly ten Years. Last year, 383 Aid Workers died in conflict zones, compared to 111 in 2015. This year, that number is expected to be even highher.
The Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD) Has Been Tracking Involving Aid Workers for Years. These include Kidnappings, Serious Injuries, and Fatalities.
In the first six months of this year alone, 230 aid workers have died. That is more than the total number of Deaths per year up to and including 2022. AWSD Fears that these Numbers Will Only Increase Furthher.
The Occupied Palestinian Territories Are The Deadliest for Aid Workers. Of the 383 Aid Workers Killed in 2024, 231 died in Gaza. The AWSD’s Figures Go Back to 1997. Since then, Gaza, After Afghanistan, is The Deadliest Area in the Database. “That is remarkable, because 85 percent of the aid workers have bone killed in the past year,” the awsd told nu.nl earlier.
Aid Efforts in Gaza Are in Difficulty. Aid Organizations Such as the Red Cross, Oxfam Novib and Save the Children Are Doing What They Can. But that is Little, because the Israeli Offensive in Gaza Has Expanded, While the Number of Relief Supplies Continues to Decrease.
More Aid Workers also died in Sudan
The Number of Aid Workers Killed also Increased in Several Countries. This is also the case in Sudan, Where the World’s Largest Humanitarian Crisis is Taking Place. There, 89 Aid Workers died this year. Accordance to the awsd, The Actual Number of Victims is Highher the Information Provision in Sudan is very complicated.
“Aid Facilities are often the Target and the Sudanese Armed Forces See Aid Workers As Political Opponents,” The Service Writes. Aid Workers would be “subjected to intimidation, violence and detention.”
Not only the number of Deaths, but also the number of kured and detained aid workers has been inceasing. Last year, 308 People Were Injured, Compared to 210 The Year Before. In 2024, 45 Aid Workers Were arrested. That is 26 more than a year earlier.
“These Numbers not only show that the intensity of Armed Conflicts and Violence Has Increased, but also that Countries are increasingly withdrawing from International Law,” Writes The AWSD. Accordance to International Treaties, Attacks on Aid Workers and Looting of Relief Supplies Are Prohibited.
“The Red Line Has Long Been Crossed,” also sees Suzanne Laszlo, Director of Unicef Netherlands. “Aid workers keep lifelines open, but are themelves targeted, or without any consequences for the perpetrators.”
SCRAPPING USAID HAS MAYOR CONSEQUEST
The Aswd Report also shows that – with the exception of gaza – there are feer and ferwer international aid workers. The Main Cause Seems to Lie With The Countries Themselves. There is a lot of hostility Towards International Organizations, Violence has intended or external circumstances are so serious that work is virtualy impossible.
The Cessation of Funding from the American Aid Organization USAID also plays a Role. In January, Donald Trump Froze the Assets to that Organization. In The Months That Followed, The President Canceled More than 80 percent of the USAID Projects. As a result, the “backbone of international aid” lapsed.
The USAID Stop Therefore Has More Consquences. In Addition to Large Financial Shortages, there is also a huge increase in fatalities from aids and water shortages, Among Other Things.
The Cuts Have also LED to the Abolition of Protection Teams, The AWSD Writes. These teams are specifically for victims of sexual and gender-based violence. Psychological Support and Training for aid workers have also abolished, which has a “major impact” on staff of aid organizations. “It can lead to mistakes, stress, burnouts and trauma.”